This Morning host Phillip, 55, said: “We wanted to take this moment to send love and best wishes to our mate Ant.”

He presents I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! with pal Declan Donnelly (Image: ITV)

Holly, 36, said it was “brave” of Ant to speak out, and This Morning agony aunt Deidre Sanders agreed. She said: “It sets a great example. He says he feels guilty, I don’t think he should. He was suffering with pain.”

Phillip added: “It’s proof that whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you do, these sort of things can affect you.”

Channel chiefs are standing by the 41-year-old, one of ITV’s biggest stars, along with sidekick Declan Donnelly.

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They hope he will have recuperated by autumn, in plenty of time to fly with Dec to Australia for the hugely popular jungle series.

One insider said: “He’s done absolutely the right thing and should be fine for I’m a Celebrity.”

Ant will also take a relaxing holiday with wife Lisa (Image: Getty Images Europe)

Ant admitted he’d become addicted to painkillers , and was abusing alcohol and other substances.

He is thought to have grown depressed over a botched knee op, and he and wife Lisa’s inability to have a baby.

Later this summer he is expected to take a relaxing holiday abroad with wife Lisa, 40, once he has left rehab, at a residential centre outside London.

He will be in a wheelchair for the next few weeks, following surgery to correct his injured knee.

The joint was said to have left him in constant pain, leading to him becoming hooked on prescription painkillers including Tramadol.